


Blood in the Water

by HostileGlitch



Series: Mighty Nein Bending AU [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Bloodbending (Avatar), Bloodbending used on a person, Briefly but still, Fjord has some toxic masculinity issues to work through, Fjord-centric (Critical Role), Gen, Not touching fjord/avantika with a ten foot pole, Warning for bloodbending and all the issues it carries, brief drowning panic, brief hints at a panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25273579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HostileGlitch/pseuds/HostileGlitch
Summary: Control is something sorely lacking in Fjord's life, especially after waking up on a beach with a strange sword and the ability to waterbend. So when Uk'otoa offers a reward of control in a way Fjord has never seen, he has to see it as a good thing... right?
Relationships: Caduceus Clay & Fjord, Captain Avantika & Fjord (Critical Role), Fjord & Caleb Widogast, Fjord & The Mighty Nein
Series: Mighty Nein Bending AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1830964
Comments: 10
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This AU has really captured my heart and soul. Please let me know if I'm missing some vital warnings in the tags. Next part hopefully soon!

Fjord stood on the beach in the middle of a pitch black night. There were no stars, no line dividing the sea from the sky, only the two moons of Exandria shining down on him. He could feel the ocean waves against his feet, the push and pull of the tides on the smallest scale. The water was cold but not unbearably so, and the silence of the night was broken only by the sound of the water. 

The deep voice of Uk’otoa shook his body as it echoed around him. “ _ Learn. _ ”

The two moons were gone, and in their place was a single yellow eye. 

There was a shuffling sound in the sand behind him. He spun around to see… a gnoll. It’s dog-like face was twisted in anger and it held a spear in its hand, pointed directly at him. But it wasn’t moving, simply standing ten or so feet from him. 

“ _ Provoke _ .” Uk’otoa‘s voice echoed. He reached for his sword on his hip but his hand hit empty air. 

Still facing the unmoving gnoll, he reached both hands back, feeling for the current of the ocean. There was nothing and as he glanced over his shoulder, he saw the ocean had vanished. Now there was only sand, stretching as far as his limited dark vision could see. 

“ _ Control _ .” Uk’otoa spoke once again. 

“I don’t understand.” Fjord spoke to the empty air, abandoning Vandrin’s accent in what he hoped was the privacy of his own dreams. No sword, no water. He was practically defenseless unless he was supposed to punch the gnoll. 

There was a pause as he stood, the blood pounding in his ears. There was no response from the spirit and the gnoll continued to stand, unmoving. 

“Control? Control what?” He asked again. There was obviously a piece he was missing. How was he supposed to control the gnoll if there was nothing around him. 

Was he actually supposed to punch the gnoll?

The gnoll let out a low growl that burst into a series of high pitched yips. It shifted its spear and began running directly at him. 

“Shit!” He called out and backed up a few steps, trying to keep his distance.

“ _ Control _ .” 

Still backing away from the creature, Fjord tried to feel for any water around him. Jester had been trying to teach him to sense the water around him, instead of needing to see it to bend it. But as he pushed his senses out, all he felt was the blood pulsing through his body, mirrored in the gnoll that was very close to him. 

Blood was mostly water, right? 

He took a breath to steady himself and reached out towards the gnoll. He felt for the water inside it and willed it to stay still. 

The gnoll froze in place, expression twisted in anger. 

Keeping his hands up, Fjord willed the creature down to its knees, and it obeyed instantly, dropping the spear and falling to its knees. 

“ _ Reward _ .” Uk’otoa’s voice echoed once again and Fjord blinked his eyes open in the dark of his cabin. The Mystake rocked in a slow, comforting roll as he lay in the bunk trying to piece together the dream. Uk’otoa had said “ _ reward” _ . Would he be rewarded with this bending ability for returning one of the orbs? The ability to reach inside an control another creature? 

Eventually, he decided that if he wasn’t going to get any more sleep, he could at least take watch from Caleb until morning. He climbed up to the deck to see Caleb leaning on the railing, looking out over the ocean. Frumpkin, the orange owlcat, was perched next to him.

Fjord wandered over and leaned on the railing next to Caleb. “How’s it been?”

“Quiet.” Caleb responded. He turned his head to look at Fjord. “You’re up early.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” Fjord lied easily. 

Caleb nodded at that. “Do you know what we’re expecting with Avantika tomorrow?” 

“Not in the slightest.” Fjord forced a small laugh. “Why don’t you get some rest, I’ll cover til morning.”

Caleb scooped Frumpkin up and turned to leave. Fjord had a moment where he wondered if he should ask Caleb about the dream. If anyone would know bending techniques, it would be him. But something about reaching into another creature’s body to control the blood felt taboo. Felt like something he needed to keep to himself. So he watched as Caleb climbed below deck and he was left looking out over the empty dark expanse of the ocean on his own. 

<<+>>

Two days later, the Mighty Nein along with Avantika and Jumedi stood in the entrance to the strange temple. As they stepped through, Fjord and Avantika in the lead, they found themselves in a round chamber, at least forty feet tall, with illustrations carved into the damp stone walls. 

The illustrations depicted a serpent, with many eyes along its body, that was quite obviously a representation of Uk’otoa. But he wasn’t alone. Along the wall was a large phoenix, wings spread wide and fire curling from the body. There was also what looked like a stone giant and a large hawk or eagle of some kind, but with many wings and no depicted head. 

“What is this place?” Jester whispered, only a few feet behind Fjord. 

“It’s a temple to the original benders.” Avantika answered. She sounded… awestruck was the best way Fjord could think to describe it. 

“Weren’t the original benders like, the dragons and the badgermoles?” Beau asked. She was taking notes in a small notebook, pausing only briefly to glance up at Avantika. 

Jester frowned. “I thought the original benders were the lion turtles.”

“There are many stories but this is the truth.” Avantika spoke while she stepped up to the illustration of Uk’otoa, placing her hand on one of the eyes. “The four Old Ones were the spirits of the elements, long before the other spirits came into being. They kept the world in balance until new spirits began to emerge. The other spirits longed for power and for a dominion, so the Old Ones were forced to give up parts of themselves to keep the other spirits happy. Eventually, the Calamity forced them to surrender everything to maintain the world.”

“So was Uk’otoa one of these Old Ones?” Nott asked. 

Avantika nodded. “The spirit of the water.”

“What do you gain by helping him?” Beau snapped. 

“What we call bending is just a small fraction of the power we would be capable of with the Old Ones back to their true forms.” Avantika locked eyes with Fjord and smiled. She gestured to the open doorway leading deeper into the temple, “Let’s proceed.” 

_ Confident and in charge _ . Fjord thought as he took a breath and stepped through the door.  _ Act like Vandrin.  _

The temple led them deeper and deeper beneath the ocean. The air grew colder and what was once a hint of sea salt familiar to the ocean air, turned into heavy, wet air that tasted strongly of salt and… something else. Avantika talked as they traveled, answering questions about the Old Ones and Uk’otoa, but Fjord wasn’t listening. His mind kept drifting back to the dream and the reward. He would never have to worry about being without water again. Never have to fear that he wasn’t useful for this group, that he would be the liability. The one who’s failure got them captured or killed again.

Eventually, they reached what appeared to be the end of the temple. A small stone room, with no carvings or distinguishing features other than a small circle of raised stone in the center, filled with water. As he approached, he couldn’t see the bottom. It was only five or so feet in diameter but it obviously led to their goal. Fjord met Avantika’s eyes and just as Caduceus began to speak behind him, they both dived in. 

The well was barely big enough for both of them to swim down. Fjord did his best to bend the water around him, propelling himself downwards. But Avantika was a stronger bender without a doubt. With a push of her hand, she accelerated down the well. Fjord grabbed at her ankle, slowing her down and letting her pull both of them deeper. She retaliated by sending several daggers of ice up at him, which he barely ducked out of the way of. Using his free hand, he tried to freeze the water around her, but it had barely begun to solidify before she kicked it off and continued down. 

Fjord followed her further and further down until the only thing he could see was Avantika ahead of him and the stone around him. He tried a few more times to slow her down, but nothing was enough to give him the lead. 

Eventually, he saw a bottom. It widened out into what looked like a ten foot diameter sphere that was unmarked except for a small circular indentation in the center. Avantika was already standing over it and with a desperate movement, she shoved her hand into the indentation. 

For a moment, nothing happened as Avantika drew her hand back. Then, where the indentation was, a singular yellow eye opened. 

“ _ Reward. _ ” The word echoed in the underwater chamber. 

Avantika was grinning madly, bright red hair fanned out around her. Her eyes were nearly manic with delight and Fjord felt a spike of jealousy shoot through him as she received whatever reward was being given. 

There was a deep rumble and the room began to shake, dislodging stone from the walls. 

Fjord quickly abandoned any thoughts of jealousy and swam towards the surface. Each push through the water, he tried to add extra force, propelling him upwards. And his lungs were really beginning to burn now. There was that instinct in him to take a breath but that would for sure be the last thing he would do. The surface could be inches away now, it had to be. They had swam down for so long but not this long? Or it could still be tens of feet up and he was never going to reach it and Gods was he even swimming in the right direction-

He broke the surface and gasped in a breath of air. A hand grabbed his wrist, Jester, and helped him out of the pool. A moment later, Avantika appeared and was helped out by Jumedi. 

Fjord worked to steady his breathing, not able to even process the questions being thrown at him yet. The peace lasted only a few moments though, as the whole temple shook, sending stone falling from the ceiling and the water in the pool splashing over the edges. Beau was the first to react, grabbing Caleb who was acting as the light source for the few without darkvision, and pulling him towards the door. “We need to get out of here now.” 

It stirred everyone to action. Fjord moved towards the door, pushing Caduceus ahead of him to be closer to the light. As fast as possible, they moved through the rooms, climbing stairs up towards the entrance. Their pounding footfalls added to the rumbling of the temple. The tremors only got stronger and more frequent, and Fjord guessed that they were only halfway through when one shook the temple hard enough that Fjord stumbled in his running, nearly falling into Caduceus. 

Beau and Caleb both shouted ahead of him and he looked up to see several large cracks spider up one wall and cross the ceiling above them, water already forcing its way in. One large piece of stone shifted with a crack and began to fall. 

Caduceus pushed aside, sending it crashing into the floor only a foot from Fjord just as he heard Jester’s shout. 

He looked back up to see that all of the water above them was being held by a large block of ice. Jester had both hands up, her feet in a wide stance. There was a grimace of effort on her face and Fjord could already see cracks forming in the ice, dripping water slowly but steadily. 

Fjord brought both hands up as well, intending to take some of the pressure from her, and instantly felt the ocean’s weight on the ice. But Jester smiled slightly with the help, so he nodded back to her and they watched as Caduceus, aided by Beau when she could, cleared enough of the rubble for them to pass. Avantika and Jumedi were apparently content to watch. 

Water was dripping through the cracking ice as Jester pushed back on it. Fjord met her eyes as the rest of the Mighty Nein were climbing over the rubble. “Jess-”

“Fjord and I will hold it.” Avantika finally stepped up, taking the weight of the ocean with apparent ease. “Go on ahead. Jumedi, go with them.” 

Wordless, Jumedi nodded and moved ahead. The rest of the Nein weren’t as supportive. 

“Fjord…” Caleb’s voice was laced with warning. 

Fjord nodded, trying to convey the confidence he was slowly losing, “Go. We’ll catch up.”

“Captain you should-” Beau had an iron grip on her staff and was staring daggers at Avantika.

“That’s an order.” He snapped back at them. That was one of Vandrin’s favorite things to say, whenever Fjord or another crew member hesitated on an unpleasant task. But Fjord saw flickers of surprise and hurt flash across a few faces and found he didn’t like saying it as much as he thought he would. 

Another rumble shook the temple, sending more rock crumbling down. The ice above them cracked some more. 

“Go!” Fjord yelled and with panicked looks in his direction, the rest of the Mighty Nein took off down the long hallway. Jester was the last to leave, opening her mouth with tears building in the corner of her eyes. But she didn’t say anything, dropping her arms and turning to follow the group. 

Avantika seemed to hold the ocean’s weight alright as they left. Then she turned to him. “We’re going to go up. I’m going to propel us up, with your help.” She was speaking casually, like this wasn’t a life or death plan. 

Fjord nodded and she shifted her weight, letting some water fall from the ceiling and pool by their feet. 

Avantika looked at him and  _ winked _ , before she dropped the ocean on him. He barely managed to keep his feet as he was plunged into the cold water. He forced his eyes open, to see Avantika already five feet above him. He steeled his nerves and began to swim up. It was incredibly difficult, with the force of the water making every upward motion take a feat of strength he barely had. 

The surface felt miles away as he swam upwards. He followed Avantika’s bright hair, willing himself to not let the air out of his lungs. It was a relief when they finally broke the water’s surface. They were only fifty or so feet from shore so Fjord swam in that direction. 

He pulled himself to land, every muscle in his body screaming. Avankia stood on the beach, glancing around. They had entered the temple further inland, so they were unfamiliar with this part of the island. With the daylight beginning to fade and even with the bright light of the full moon, Fjord had no desire to spend more time out in the open then he needed to. 

“The ships should be around to the East.” Avantika glanced up to the sky to get her bearings. “Let us hurry, before it gets dark.” 

Fjord didn’t bother to check her direction as she turned and began to walk quickly along the beach. He worried about the rest of the Mighty Nein. They had to be alright, he kept telling himself. 

Avantika stopped suddenly after a few minutes of half-walking and half-jogging. She held out her hand, signalling Fjord to stop. Just as Fjord was about to ask what was wrong, he looked over to see three lizard folk burst out of the tree line, spears raised in their direction. 

Fjord pulled out his sword, bracing himself for a fight. But Avantika held both hands out and grinned. 

The lizardfolk froze in place, faces twisted in pain. The one in front lifted his spear, but the movement was forced and almost  _ puppeted _ . He cried out, speaking a language Fjord didn’t know, but the fear and desperation in the words were palpable. 

They turned, as if being controlled by strings, and the one with the spear raised, angled it forward. Two of them shifted, the one with the spear pointing it at another...

And they slammed together. Fjord saw a spray of blood before he was forced to look away. And Avantika was  _ laughing _ . She dropped her hands and turned her face to the full moon, bright in the oncoming night sky. 

“This is my reward. This is Uk’otoa’s power.” Avantika met Fjord’s eyes and he looked away, back at the lizardfolk. The two non-injured ones were climbing to their feet and bolting for the treeline, abandoning the third. 

“Let’s get back to the boats.” Fjord responded and Avantika nodded. 

<<+>>

Fjord kept Avantika’s new powers to himself. He was expecting her to reveal it at some point, especially once Caleb lit half of her ship on fire. But she never did. 

He wondered why for another week, as they moved towards the second temple. He held two keys in his sword now and his plan was to only use one to gain this power and to keep the second until he died. 

So he found himself standing in front of a similar well at the bottom of a second temple. The rest of the Mighty Nein stood around him, faces conveying varying levels of concern. 

“It’s likely that this temple will collapse like the last one.” Fjord looked around at his friends and specifically not down into the water. “You should get a headstart out.”

“I’m staying with you.” Jester said immediately. 

Fjord considered it a moment, trying to suppress the urge to tell her no, he didn’t know what was going to happen here and he didn’t want her to die too. But another powerful waterbender was a powerful resource. But that left the rest of the Nein without a waterbender this far under the ocean. 

“Jess, you should go with-” Fjord started. 

Beau cut him off. “We’re staying together.” 

For some reason, the simple statement sent a shock through his system. He had dragged these people around the Lucidian Ocean for weeks now, following his quest for understanding and power. He’d dragged Nott into her worst fear and the rest of them far out of their elements to satisfy his curiosity. And they were still sticking with him. 

This was the last step. His final opportunity to see what he was capable of. 

With a nod towards the group, he took a breath and dived into the well. Without Avantika fighting him every step of the way, it was an easy swim down with the aid of his bending. He reached the bottom and the same hollowed out sphere of stone. He located the small indentation without difficulty and before he gave himself a moment to rethink, he placed the pommel of his sword down. 

There was a flash and a golden eye opened. 

The world went white. 

He was standing on a beach under the full moon. The ocean lapped around his ankles and the world was silent except for the waves. 

“ _ Reward _ .” A yellow eye opened where the larger of the two moons were only a moment before. 

Fjord heard movement behind him and turned to see three lizardfolk standing on the beach. 

“ _ Control _ .” 

He reached out a hand and felt the pulse of blood through their veins. He brought his hands towards the floor-

He was underwater in near blackness. The walls around him shook as he jolted back to reality. Pushing the water around him, he swam his way back to the surface of the well. 

He barely was out of the water before Beau grabbed him and began to drag him towards the exit. They ran through the temple, breathing heavily and dodging bits of stone as it fell from the ceiling. They reached the entrance, covered by a heavy block of stone. 

“I’ll stop the water.” Jess took a preparatory stance in front of the makeshift door. Caduceus stepped up next to her, glancing around at the group. 

“Everyone ready?” He asked, receiving nods in response. He shifted his weight and the wall came down. Caleb’s small flame he was using for light went out and it took a moment for Fjord’s darkvision to take over. 

Jester had the water bubbled at the door. It was at least a ten minute walk on the seafloor to the surface. 

“Let’s go.” Beau offered. 

Nott climbed onto Caleb’s back, burying her face into his scarf. And they all stepped into the bubble. 

Beau and Jester kept an easy bubble around them. Fjord kept watch, as the only non-distracted person with darkvision. It was a surprisingly beautiful experience, watching fish and sea creatures drift by their bubble. 

“ _ Control. _ ” The voice echoed through his skull. For a moment, he froze, fearing that the rest of them heard. But Caleb ran into his back, muttering an apology. 

“Is something wrong, Fjord?” Jester asked. 

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “No, just looking at all the fish.” It would be so easy to test this new power out right now. To see if Uk’otoa’s promise was truth. 

But he remembered the pained and terrified cries of the lizardfolk when Avantika had controlled them. How would the rest of his friends react?

So he held off. They returned to the ship, made plans to return to Nicodranas, and headed off to bed. Fjord took the first watch on his own, insisting that he needed time to think. It wasn’t technically a lie but he still felt a bit bad saying that. 

So he stood all alone, on the deck of the Ball Eater, under the two moons of Exandria. He was only a half an hour or so into his watch when he heard a screech. He glanced around for the source, drawing his sword. Eventually, he spotted a singular harpy, perched on the crows nest. 

He took a few steps towards the alarm bell, watching the creature as he moved. The harpy only watched him, beady eyes reflecting the small amount of light. 

It screeched again, and flew from the crows nest down to the handrail of the ship, only fifteen or so feet from him. 

Fjord froze, hand halfway to the warning bell. It was alone and seemingly harmless. 

“ _ Control _ .” The voice echoed in his skull again. 

Taking a breath, Fjord reached out to the harpy, holding his hands in the position Avantika had taken. The ocean rocked the ship beneath his feet, steady and forceful.

He commanded the harpy to freeze and it did. And it  _ screamed _ . A desperate and pained screech that Fjord felt in his bones. He nearly lost his concentration in the moment but he held on. 

There was a part of him that was screaming too, inside. Telling him that this was fucked up beyond all imagine. But there was a part of him that saw his friends, saw Jester and Yasha’s pain as the Iron Sheppards attacked in the night, Fjord helpless with his pitiful bending. He saw Vandrin, standing on the deck of their ship, pulling a tidal wave of water from the sea. 

He looked back to the harpy. It was still frozen in place. Its eyes were wide and fearful and it seemed to be shaking, possibly fighting the hold Fjord still had over it. 

He let it go and in a blink, it was gone. Fjord sank to the deck of the ship, looking up at the two moons. 

“There’s other ways.” 

Caducues’s voice sent him shooting back up to his feet, pulling the sword out of its sheath before he realized who it was. “‘Duces…” Fjord trailed off. What had he seen? 

“What you have found is powerful.” Caduceus was as hard to read as ever. He was out of his armor but his staff was still in his grasp. 

“You’re going to tell me to not use it.” Fjord guessed that was where Caduceus was going. 

Caduceus shook his head. “No. I just will warn you that you might not like who you become once you do. Goodnight.”

With that, he turned back to the stairs and ducked below deck, leaving Fjord alone in the dark of night. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got long, so I'm breaking this into two parts. Final chapter out hopefully soon. Also, check tags for updated warnings and the like. And feel free to come talk to me on tumblr at HostileGlitch.

“ _Control._ ”

It echoed through his skull the following weeks. As they faced another hostile pirate ship, before Jester sunk them with a wave of terrifying power. As they crossed the border back into the Empire, hiding from the crownsguard the best they could. As they stood in the ruins of Nott’s past life. As they took to the tunnels, facing creatures and elemental beasts on their way to Xhorhas. As they emerged in the middle of a battle between the empire and dynasty. 

It was ironic, in a twisted, dark way that the first time he used his new power since that night on the ship, was under the well in Bazzozan against one of his friends.

Fjord gave a cry of pain as fire burst in front of his face, sending him back into the cave wall and nearly to the ground. 

He pulled himself together, reaching for the water in his waterskin with one hand and his sword with the other. Beau had already leapt forward, grabbing both of Caleb’s wrists and saying something Fjord couldn’t make out with the ringing in his ears. Jester moved to one side, nursing a few bad burns. Yasha moved the other way, spreading out over the space. Caduceus pulled a piece of stone halfway covering the entrance to the larger cavern as a shield, fur singed. 

There was something that Fjord couldn’t place as he watched them fan out. There wasn’t a threat? Had the fire been a trap? Was it another demon that was well concealed?

He was just about to call out, asking what was going on before there was fire again. 

Caleb had shoved Beau off and with a large wave of his hand, fire burst from one side of the room and swept through the room. Beau seemed to fair alright, bending a buffer of air between her and the fire, but it sent her staggering back into the small pool of water-

Caleb was practically standing in a pool of water. 

Fjord brought both hands up, yelling “Jester, freeze!” as he did so.

The water surged up around Caleb and just as it was just beginning to freeze when Caleb surrounded himself in fire. The water burst everywhere, sizzling as it hit the cool stone floor. 

Caleb cocked his head at Jester, not an ounce of recognition in his eyes and Fjord saw him raise a hand, two fingers out. 

There was a spark of electricity. 

Fjord panicked. He had no idea what water could do against lightning, it might even shock Beau, who was making a dive for Caleb, fists up but her swings went wide and she stumbled into a stalagmite, cursing loudly. 

In his head he saw Jester, a burst of lightning in her chest, hitting the ground, unmoving. 

“ _Control._ ” The voice echoed. 

Fjord reached into that part of himself, letting everything else fade away. Bringing his hands up, one in front of his face, the other outstretched, he willed Caleb to freeze. 

The cry of pain that Caleb made, not very loud but filled with agony, broke Fjord’s will instantly. He let go, feeling a stab of guilt straight through his chest. Caleb dropped to his knees in the water, breathing heavy. He made eye contact with Fjord, a strange mixture of contempt and fear, before the pommel of Yasha’s sword slammed into his temple and he collapsed into the pool. 

Voices and chaos broke out, but Fjord missed all of it. He moved back into the cave they came from, out of sight from the group. His hands were shaking and his thoughts were spinning. He had willingly used something terrible against one of his closest friends. He hadn’t bothered to try another solution, he just leapt into his new power because it was _powerful_ which meant that it was _good_. 

He slid down the wall, pulling his knees up to his chest. 

“Fjord?” Caduceus asked softly. 

_You might not like who you become._ Caduceus had said to him that night on the ship. Well, he really didn’t like himself now. 

“Is Caleb alright?” He asked, weakly attempting to draw Caduceus’s attention away from himself. 

Caduceus nodded, “Jester healed him and he seemed okay. He said there was a voice-“

“Duces! Fjord! We have a problem!” Beau’s shout echoed through the cave. Followed by a deep roar from some creature Fjord didn’t want to deal with. 

Caduceus hurried back to the group. Fjord pulled out his sword, taking a moment to stare into the golden eye in the hilt, before running into the cave once more. 

<<+>>

Hurt and exhausted, Fjord reluctantly took first watch. Caduceus was already asleep, thankfully after what he’d been through. The rest were laying out bed rolls and blankets and settling in for what Fjord guessed would be a restless night. 

“I’ll take watch with you, Fjord.” Caleb spoke suddenly. Fjord glanced over at him and was about to protest. Caleb had nearly died today as well and he looked like he needed the sleep. But when he met Fjord’s eyes, there was a look that said “we need to talk.” So Fjord nodded simply, turning back to face the entrance to the cave. After all, he didn’t deserve to be making those kinds of calls anymore. 

They were silent for nearly an hour, Fjord guessed. At one point, Caleb had gotten up and disappeared down the cave for a moment, only to return with Frumpkin perched on his shoulder. 

He never understood where that owlcat went when he wasn’t around Caleb. 

Eventually, Fjord turned to face him. “Caleb, about the fight earlier...” He started at a whisper, just loud enough for Caleb to hear without waking the others. Not like it was a real worry over Caducues’s snoring, but it was the principle. 

“You don’t have to apologize.” Caleb spoke evenly, still looking off into the distance. 

“I do, because it was fucked up and you didn’t deserve that.” Fjord sighed. Caleb had made such a point about taking watch with him and now this conversation was hitting a dead end before it even started. 

Caleb pulled Frumpkin into his lap, burying his hands in the soft fur. He seemed to start to say something, before pausing and clearing his throat. “How long have you been a bloodbender?”

 _Bloodbender_. The word seemed to hang in the air for a moment. “Only since I… unlocked the second temple.” He answered. “Avantika used it once, after the first temple but I had never heard of it before that.”

“It’s not a well known thing.” Caleb was still staring off, not focusing on Fjord. “It’s something only powerful waterbenders can do, and even then not many are capable. I’ve only met one before.”

Fjord wasn’t sure how he felt about that. For one, he never considered himself a powerful waterbender. Jester had taught him a lot but she was still miles ahead of him in terms of both technique and raw power. And this power, bloodbending, wasn’t unique to Uk’otoa but something other people could do. 

Caleb continued talking in a low, too even tone. “It’s a skill that can be useful… in the right circles. But it’s not a nice one.”

“I never want to use it again.” Fjord said simply. And as he said it, he was surprised by how much he meant it. “And I’m sorry for using it on you.”

Caleb didn’t seem willing to argue the point, running his hand absently down one of Frumpkin’s wings. 

They fell back into silence. Fjord’s mind was racing. He had been given this power and it could be very useful. He finally had something that was uniquely _his_ in this group. And yet…

The moment played in his mind again, Caleb’s choked cry of pain and Fjord controlled him like a simple puppet. And the Harpy on the ship, even a creature who caused him many nights of pain throughout years at sea. Did it deserve the pain? Did it deserve to be controlled?

“In an odd way, it’s very similar to firebending.” Caleb’s quiet voice broke Fjord out of his thoughts. 

“Similar to firebending?” Fjord repeated. 

Caleb nodded and summoned a small flame in his palm. “Fire is the element of control. You need to be in control of it, otherwise it will destroy you.” The flame went out. “I guess-- My point is I spent a long time scared of it. I would hate to see you follow my footsteps.”

They sat in silence for the rest of their watch, waking a grumpy Beau and Jester a while later. As he lay in his bedroll, trying desperately to banish the images from the day’s events from his brain, he kept returning to Caleb’s point. Was he scared of bloodbending? It was a horrifying thing and having that power over other people… Yeah, it scared him to his core. 

And yet, was Caleb saying it was a good thing? Caleb had first-hand experience with it and was still saying Fjord should give it another chance?

He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t inflict this upon anyone else. He had run from the third and final temple of Uk’otoa because unleashing a powerful spirit on the world scared him too. 

He had never asked for bending and a life of adventure, but now that he had it, he didn’t want to give it up. All he had to do was convince Uk’otoa that he would get to the third temple. As he finally drifted off to dreamless sleep, he found a modicum of comfort in the fact that Uk’otoa couldn’t really do anything to him. 

<<+>>

“ _Punish._ ”

Fjord shot awake in a moment, gasping for breath and coughing, ridding his lungs of the phantom water. 

“Fjord? Are you okay?” Caleb’s sleep addled voice asked. 

It took a moment for Fjord to respond. He wasn’t drowning, he was fine. They were in Roshanna, in an inn. It was a dream. “Yeah.” He managed to choke out after a moment. “Just a…” He decided not to finish his sentence. He wasn’t in the mood to answer questions. “Go back to sleep.”

As he steadied his breathing, he listened as Caleb seemed to drift back off to sleep. He could see Frumpkin’s eyes trained on him intently however. He also noticed his falchion. Where he had left it in its sheath overnight, now it was embedded in the wooden floor, blade pierced at least four inches between two boards. 

As quietly as he could, he slipped on enough clothes to be decent if he was seen, grabbed the falchion and disappeared out of the inn. He ducked into an alley only a few buildings down. Thankfully, the streets seemed mostly empty. 

Uk’otoa’s words “ _Don’t run_ ” kept repeating in his head. How did he know Fjord was running. It had only been a few weeks. He was supposed to have more time to plan. To think of how to keep Uk’otoa on the line while he kept his bending. And Uk’otoa spoke of punishments. 

Tentatively, he reached out to a small puddle at his feet. He tried to draw it upwards but it remained unmoving. He leaned the sword against the wall and tried with both hands, only for the water to barely tremor. 

“Oh no”. Vandrin’s accent forgotten, he ran a hand through his hair, reaching for the falchion. “Oh no no no.” 

Waterbending wasn’t something he had grown up with, like Jester. He learned it, after waking up on a beach with the falchion gripped in his hand. But it was still _his_. Every moment standing ankle deep in a lake or stream as Jester talked about letting his chi flow was something he was very fond of. Every time he froze an enemy in ice in time for Beau’s fists to slam into its face or when he landed a successful waterwhip after weeks of trying. 

Without that… he was just average with a sword. 

He could run. Maybe wait this out, or try and find another way to get his bending back. 

But the rest of the Nein. They were in a strange city, far from anything any of them knew. But they didn’t have to know. Maybe it would come back and that would be it, at least for a while. 

He had to hope. 

Walking slowly, he made his way back to the room. Caleb looked to be truly asleep and Frumpkin simply cocked his head and chirped quietly as he pushed the door open and crept back to his bed. He re-sheathed his sword and tried once again to fall asleep. 

He was mostly unsuccessful. When he blinked his eyes open, unsure of the time in the eternal night of Roshonna, Caleb was gone. As he got dressed, he tried to rub the circles from under his eyes. 

Just as he was about to leave, he uncorked his water skin and reached for the water inside. It didn’t react. 

“No one has to know.” Fjord spoke quietly, pulling Vandrin’s accent around him. 

He descended the stairs into the main room of the inn. The Nein had grabbed a large table in a corner and were talking over mostly eaten breakfasts. 

“Hey Fjord!” Jester saw him first and waved him over. He took the open seat next to her and accepted the plate Beau slid in his direction. 

“You look like shit.” Beau commented. 

He shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.” That excuse had become far too common, he realized. The girls seem to go back to their conversations after that but Caduceus was looking at him with his knowing gaze and Caleb looked like he was about to ask a question. Fjord quickly shook his head and Caleb went back to his breakfast. 

He picked at his food absently as they all talked. They were making plans regarding the professor and shopping. He didn’t even try to follow the conversation around him. He just kept thinking back to the dream and standing in the alley, realizing he had nothing left. 

At one point, he glanced at the water in his cup and shifted his fingers, when everyone else seemed distracted. The water still didn’t move. 

Was this permanent? Was he back to being a nonbender? How was he going to break this to the group? _So, I’ve been using a fake accent for months and also I’m powerless now._

“Fjord?” Beau was poking his shoulder and he snapped back to reality. “You good?”

He looked around to see that most of the group had already stood and were getting ready to leave. “Huh? Yeah.” He stood up, running a hand down his face. “Sorry.” 

“Are you gonna like… pass out?” Beau’s words were casual but there was a tone of concern underneath. 

“No, I just didn’t sleep well.” Fjord tried to shrug the questions off. 

Beau gave him an intense look for a moment, before turning back to the group. 

He didn’t say much as they split into two groups. He followed Yasha, Cad, and Jester around to a few shops. Eventually, they walked up to one where Yasha decided to stay outside rather than go in. Fjord watched as both clerics pushed in through the curtained door and he leaned against the doorframe. 

Yasha was looking around at the people wandering throughout the city. So Fjord reached for his water skin and uncorked it. Taking a breath, he attempted to draw the water out. And it worked. He pulled the water out and spun it around his hand. 

“That’s a nice trick.” Yasha spoke softly. 

Fjord was barely able to breathe as he responded. “Yeah. It is.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for waiting, this chapter took much longer than I had hoped but it's here! This AU is so much fun for me to explore and I have so many ideas.

“You need me more than I need you.”

The blade of his falchion pressed to his chest, the bubbling magma only a few feet away. But despite the heat on his face and arms, he felt cold. Blood pounded in his ears, drowning out the silence of the cavern. 

The memory of his last nightmare was still fresh in his mind. Uk’otoa had controlled him, forcing him further and further underwater. His breath escaping bit by bit until he was forced to try and take a breath, but water filled his lungs. And throughout, the echoing voice repeating “ _Punish_.”

He woke up to find his bending once again gone and he realized that he was done being controlled. Uk’otoa needed him because he held the last key. He had a bargaining chip. 

So he stood, holding his sword to his chest. After a moment, he didn’t feel any different so he took a breath, pushed the blade into his chest, and stepped one foot closer to the lava. The heat was searing his skin and he could feel blood running down his chest. 

What was he afraid of? He was afraid of bloodbending, of having the power to reach inside another’s body and bend them to his will. He was scared of being useless. Of returning to his friends without his bending. Of forcing them back to the coast or leaving them entirely. 

The lava bubbled only a few feet from him. 

Was he willing to die for this? 

He took another step forward. He barely felt the falchion as he pushed it further into his chest. The beat of his heart sent a pulse through his entire body. 

He was inches from the lava now. And Uk’otoa wasn’t responding. He still felt cold, felt the pressure of water in his lungs. 

A flash of light, like sunlight reflecting off silver, caught his eye from across the pool. He looked up to see one of the anvils, with the two pieces of the sword resting on it. And carved into the front was the symbol of the Wildmother. A crook surrounded by vines. It seemed to shine for a moment and he felt… warm. Not hot with the searing proximity to the lava, but the warmth of the beach in the summer. 

A few answers came to him in quick succession. 

No, he wasn’t willing to die for this. And he wasn’t scared of Uk’otoa. 

He pulled the sword from his chest and held it over the lava. His blood hissed as it hit the pool, creating small clouds of smoke that swirled around him. 

And he threw it. 

It hit the lava with a hiss. He stood and watched as it sunk below the surface. 

Finally, the pain in his chest hit him. He pressed a hand to the wound, only for it to come away red. 

Healing. He needed healing. So he crept back into the room where they were all sleeping, spread out in bedrolls. 

Caduceus stirred immediately as Fjord shook his shoulder slightly. He blinked in the dim light and looked up at Fjord, frowning as he noticed Fjord’s chest. In a moment, he had a hand pressed to Fjord’s chest and the familiar warmth and moss sprouted from his hand. 

When he pulled it away, the cut was unaffected. 

“Huh.” Caduceus muttered, pushing himself up to a stand. Fjord stood with him, pressing his hand back to his chest. He’d never seen Caducues’s healing fail before. Caduceus gathered his pack before stepping out of the room, Fjord following behind. 

They moved into another room under the dim light of a still-lit torch and Caduceus sat him down. 

“What happened?” Caduceus asked simply, pulling things out of his pack.

Vandrin’s accent pulled at him. All of the comfort and confidence that he was in desperate need of. But then he looked up at Caduceus’s eyes, filled with concern and he realized that he couldn’t lie to his friends anymore. 

“I threw the sword into the liquid rock.” He answered.

Caduceus pulled Fjord’s hand off the wound before pressing a piece of gauze to it. “Your sword? Why?”

“I don’t like being controlled.” That was only the tip of the iceberg, he had to admit. 

Caduceus only nodded at that. He tried once again to heal Fjord, gathering a glove of earth around his hand and pressing it to Fjord’s chest. Again, Fjord felt the rush of warmth but the cut was still there when Caduceus pulled his hand away. 

“That’s odd.” Caduceus spoke, seemingly to himself. 

Fjord wondered if it was a curse. Could spirits curse people? Was he destined to bleed to death for throwing away his sword? 

Caduceus shifted to cleaning and bandaging the wound without speaking. Fjord watched absently. 

“Thank you,” Fjord spoke before he even realized it. 

Caduceus met his eyes and looked confused. “For what?”

_For patching me up after I stabbed myself,_ he started to say before he caught himself. Caduceus would most likely wave that off as his responsibility. “For being you.” 

“For what it means,” Caduceus finished wrapping his chest and turned to start putting his things away, “That makes me feel like going on this journey has all been worth it.” 

Fjord didn’t know how to respond to that. 

“Let’s get back to the others.” Caduceus stood up and picked up his pack. 

As they passed the lava pit, Fjord tried to see if his falchion was there. There was no sign of it, but he still could see the shine of the Wildmother’s symbol on the anvil. Strangely, despite the damage he had done to himself not half an hour prior, there was no more pain. Just a numb cold. 

It was another miracle that he was able to fall asleep again. 

<<+>>

The next morning he found himself spilling his secrets to the rest of the Nein. 

“Let me try and heal you!” Jester blurted out the moment Fjord was finished with the story. 

Fjord looked over to Caduceus to see what he thought and Caduceus nodded. “Probably should change the bandage anyways.”

Unsurprisingly, Jester’s healing, which always held a little more energy than Caduceus’s, failed to heal the cut either. 

Caduceus said that it didn’t appear to be infected, so he wrapped it with clean bandages. He debated his armor and eventually he donned it. There was no saying what they would run into, and he would need all of the protection he could get. 

They were packing up to start the journey to Uthodurn when Fjord felt a tap on his hip. He looked down to see Nott, looking almost… bashful. 

“Here.” She pressed the handle of a simple dagger into his hand. “Us non-benders stick together.” 

Fjord met her eyes for a moment before hers darted away. “Thanks, Nott.”

“Don’t stab yourself with it.” She said before nodding at him once and turning on her heel to run up to where Jester was pulling on her coat. 

Caduceus had found him a simple longsword and passed it to him, with the promise that “he would have something better soon.”

Jester offered him a whip that she had picked up at one point in their adventures, which he took awkwardly. He had no experience with a whip but he tied it to his belt. 

The walk ahead was going to be long and cold. Fjord gratefully took the offered furs. He watched, with a seed of jealousy, as Beau showed Caleb her trick to heat up the air around her. But it meant that he was offered an extra scarf, so it wasn’t all bad. 

They set off into the cold air. It was an uneventful few hours. Jester sculpted various ice sculptures as they walked, bare hands turning her blue skin slightly purple in the fingers, but she didn’t notice. Nott gave up trudging through the snow up to her waist and climbed onto Caleb’s back. Beau made a point to see if she could walk on top of the snow, making as little imprint in the snow as possible. Caduceus buried his nose into his scarf and made very little comment as they walked. 

Fjord was just about to ask for a break for lunch and a rest, when Caduceus stopped suddenly, holding up one hand. They all froze. 

“What is it?” Beau whispered, just loud enough for the group to hear. 

Fjord drew his new longsword, grimacing at the unfamiliar shape of the handle in his grip and the balance of the weight.

“Underground.” Caduceus spoke slowly. He dropped down, pushing snow away and placing his hand against the ground. “Two large… burrowing creatures. Headed towards us.”

There was a few moments of silence as the Mighty Nein braced themselves

“Caleb, move!” Caduceus’s voice wasn’t loud but held a strong warning. Caleb leapt to the side a moment before a large, insectoid mouth burst from the ground. Nott tumbled from Caleb’s shoulders, vanishing into the snow as Caleb rolled to his feet and an arc of fire burst from him and slammed into the creature. 

They all leapt into action. The second creature exploded out from behind them, sending rocks careening down. 

Fjord adjusted the grip on this strange sword and ran towards the second creature, swinging at one of its legs. The first slice went wide, but the second slammed into its leg, taking off a small chunk of it’s hard shell. 

For a moment, he let himself feel proud. Even without his bending, he could still swing a sword. 

Then the creature turned towards him and lunged. Fjord tried to fall back but a spike of pain shot through his chest and he stumbled. Its teeth clamped down on his torso and several bursts of pain as its fangs pierced his armor. He also felt the immense heat of the creature. It scalded his skin and sent a wave of nausea through his system. 

He felt his feet leave the ground as a voice shouted his name. 

A shout as Beau appeared in his line of sight, letting go of her glider and kicking out towards the creature. She landed on its head and aimed three punches. In its mouth, Fjord felt the creature seize and in a moment, he was falling. 

A cushion of air softened his fall. Groaning, he pushed himself to his feet. His chest sent out bursts of pain with each beat of his heart, and he was certainly bleeding in multiple places. 

Another burst of fire slammed into the creature, doing nothing except leaving a small bit of ash on its hide. 

“Fire isn’t doing anything!” Beau yelled. 

“I can’t do anything else, Beauregard.” Caleb called back. 

A hand on his shoulder. Caduceus stood over him, eyebrows furrowed in worry. When Caduceus pressed a hand to one of the new wounds, moss grew over the wound and when it flaked away, there was only the hint of an injury. 

“Thanks, ‘duces.” Fjord tried to push past the pain in his chest. 

The creature above him roared. Fjord looked up to see Beau leap off of its head and the creature’s jaws closed around her. 

His sword-- _the_ sword, he corrected himself-- was nowhere to be found amongst the mud and snow. So Fjord pulled out the whip. 

The second creature let out a screech and Fjord glanced over to see it bleeding heavily from one eye, surrounded in ice. It whipped from side to side, breaking free and it let out another ear-piercing screech. 

The one holding Beau turned and tunneled underground. 

“Beauregard!” Caleb shouted. Fjord leapt forward and attempted to catch the creature with the whip. Somehow, the end wrapped around the creature’s tail, catching on the plates of its hide. Fjord’s arm was nearly ripped from it’s socket as the creature continued to burrow in. But this was Beauregard’s life. So Fjord dug his heels in, crying out in anger and pain as he desperately held onto the creature. If he thought his chest hurt before, every nerve in his body was screaming. 

Caduceus ran past him, stopping once he reached approximately where the head was. He split apart the ground, looking down. 

Fjord felt himself be dragged another foot forward. Tears built at the corners of his eyes. 

Jester and Caleb joined Caduceus. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the second creature collapse as a crossbow bolt found its other eye. 

Jester leapt into the hole Caduceus created. Fjord could hear them yelling but the words were indistinct. His chest felt like it was tearing in two. 

“ _Punish._ ” The word echoed around him. He was failing his friends. He was useless in this fight. His feet slipped forward further. 

The shapes ahead were blurred but he saw blue. Jester’s blue skin and the blue of Beau’s robes. And a lot of red. 

They were okay. Beau was okay. Fjord let go of the whip, letting it and the creature disappear underground. He pressed a hand to his chest. Even with his breastplate, he could feel the pulse of blood. Or maybe he was imagining it. The world was awfully fuzzy. Things seemed to swim in his vision. 

And everything went black. 

<<+>>

The cold is what woke him. Both on his skin and deep within his chest. 

He shifted, trying to get the blood flowing in his limbs. His eyes blinked open to white snow and stone. 

“Fjord!” Jester’s voice was loud right next to him. “Oh my gosh are you okay?”

Her hands were warm when they pressed to the side of his face. She leaned into his line of sight. 

“What-?” He tried to say, though it barely came out as anything more than a grunt.

“You collapsed and when I went to heal you…” Jester trailed off. There was panic in her eyes as she looked down at Fjord’s chest. 

He followed her gaze, pushing himself up slightly. His armor and shirt were gone, and the cut on his chest was surrounded with dark lines, and the skin around it was flushed and angry. The bandages over the cut were stained red. 

“How do you feel?” Caduceus knelt on his other side. 

Fjord mostly felt cold. There was no pain like he was expecting. “I’m alright, I think.” He answered. Neither Caduceus or Jester seemed to believe him. “How’s Beau?” He asked. 

“I’m good.” Her voice answered from a few feet away. Fjord tried to sit up, wincing as the movement strained his muscles. Jester offered a hand and he gratefully took it. He sat up and looked around. They were in a half igloo half stone dome. Beau looked bruised and tired, but alive and Fjord felt a wave of relief wash over him. At least she was alright. 

“Fjord!” Nott’s voice sounded from where she was barely visible in a pile of blankets. “I can’t believe you’re so strong!”

His cheeks flushed at the complement and he turned away, looking everywhere but into his friends’ faces. 

Either oblivious to or in spite of his embarrassment, Nott continued. “I mean, you’re normally so weak but you were holding that giant bug!”

“You probably saved my life.” Beau added. Then in a quiet voice a moment later, “So, thank you.”

Ever since that morning in Roshanna where he woke up without his bending, he was scared of how he would move on without it. That without his bending, he would be nothing to the group but someone with a knack for voices and who was average with a sword. But he saved Beau’s life, without his bending. 

But then there was this. This strange… sickness that seemed to spread from the cut he inflicted on himself. Uk’otoa’s parting gift to remind him that he wasn’t free. 

“Tea?” Caduceus asked and without waiting for a response, pressed a warm cup into his grasp. The warmth was comforting in the cold air and he took a sip. It was slightly bitter, but it delivered some much needed warmth. 

“Do you know what’s happening?” Fjord asked, motioning to his chest. 

Caduceus frowned slightly. “I’m not sure. It appears that when you turned against Uk’otoa, he may have left some darkness inside you still. I will talk to the Mother tonight, to see what she can offer us.”

The Wildmother. Caduceus always spoke about following the path she laid for him. And to Fjord, nothing seemed better right now than having a path. A goal. Some reason to believe that things were happening for a reason. 

As he sipped on his tea and the rest of the Mighty Nein moved on with their conversations, he closed his eyes and tried to meditate. 

The sounds of his friends’ voices faded, leaving the distant sound of the wind blowing through leafless trees. Silently, he posed a question. 

_What do I do now?_

No answer came, not like he was expecting. Instead he heard his friends talking.

“Are you sure whoever can forge this sword is in Uthodurn?” Beau asked. 

“I’m sure.” Caduceus sounded confident

Caleb spoke up next, “What makes you so confident?” 

Caduceus hummed before he responded, seeming to try and think of a response. “Because Fjord is meant to have it, so it will be repaired.”

A warm breeze swept past Fjord and he opened his eyes again. It wasn’t an answer, but it was something. 

<<+>>

They returned to the Kyln exhausted and beat up, but with a sword ready to be reforged. 

Fjord felt like he was supposed to be excited. This sword was supposed to hold some real magic, from the time before the Calamity. And it was going to be his. 

And yet, as he stood at the entrance to the Kyln, looking out over the snow-covered mountains, he couldn’t help but feel… lost. 

Before he threw everything away, he knew what he was doing. Who he was. He was a waterbender with his powers given to him by a strange, ancient spirit. He was a bloodbender, no matter how much that fact scared him. He was traveling with this strange group to try and leave the world a little better than they found it, running from the exact thing that gave him his powers. 

He could hear voices from inside the kyln. His friends, talking excitedly about their past few days’ adventures. He pressed his hand to his chest. He still had his armor and the furs on, but through all of the layers was a bleeding wound on his chest, with some kind of infection spreading through his body. Would the sword help with that? Or would he have to return to Uk’otoa?

Who was he going to become after this? 

“May I join you?” A voice next to him. He looked over to see Caduceus standing a few feet from him. 

Fjord waved at the open space next to him, “Of course.” 

Caduceus sat with a nod. He was barefoot, which Fjord had come to realize means that he was settling down for meditation. Caduceus’s eyes closed and Fjord watched as he steadied his breathing. 

Throughout everything they’ve been through, Caduceus has been a beacon of calm. And he was so confident. Growing up, Fjord was told that he needed to act a certain way to be respected. That he needed to boss people around, to hide how he felt, to like or dislike certain things. Caduceus felt none of that. His hair was bright pink and he was kind, compassionate. 

The Wildmother offered him so much. 

Fjord settled into a position mimicking Caduceus. He couldn’t… sense the breath of the earth like Caduceus could, instead, he just listened to the sound of the wind. He closed his eyes. 

He was standing on a beach at night. The ocean waves lapped around his ankles. His chest was bare, with no cut to be seen. 

A warm breeze blew past him. He wasn’t cold. The bone-deep chill that had settled in his bones was gone. All he felt was the warm night air on the coast. 

He took a deep breath. 

The ocean waves against his feet pulled back. 

He breathed out and the water surged around his feet again. 

The stars shone above him. The two moons of Exandria were bright and full in the night sky, reflecting off of the ocean. The crashing of waves was the only sound. 

He raised his hands and the ocean rose with them. 

And parted to reveal… the sword. It was stuck in the sand, the blade glowing a soft, green light. He took a few steps and grasped the handle. 

Another burst of warm wind swirled around him. 

“Wildmother?” Fjord spoke aloud. “Melora?”

A voice seemed to rise out of the crashing of the waves. Not words, but ideas and images. 

“ _You have been lost, caught in a dark current, an undertow_.” The voice, at least the idea of a voice, was feminine. Matronly. “ _These depths seed you with an alien wound, too deep to heal, and leave your mind a torrent._ ”

He gasped as a sharp pain stabbed through his chest. His cut reappeared on his chest with a spray of blood. 

_“You found my gaze through chance. Through greed. Through company._ ” The voice continued. “ _These waters are your home_.”

Fjord, one hand on the hilt of the sword and the other pressed to his chest, looked out at the sea. The endless horizon disappearing into darkness. 

“ _These waters are me. And I am them. I am the land that rises from them. I am the trees that bind them. I am the beasts that keep them._ ”

He looked up at the moons. Even before he became a waterbender, he found himself drawn to the light of the moons. They offered a sense of calmness, of tranquility he so often found himself in need of. 

“ _This seed of darkness…_ ” He felt his chest pulse with pain and he winced. Cold settled in, a sensation he was familiar with but loathe to return to. “ _This seed I cannot heal but I can help you carry the burden. If you would protect all that is me._ ”

The warm wind swept around him again, taking the edge off of the bitter cold. 

“ _Will you walk my lands, swim my shores, and guide my children as one of my own?_ ”

The air and water fell still. Silence surrounded him. 

It didn’t occur to Fjord to say anything else. “Yes, I would.”

The water swelled around him, wind whipped through his hair. Salt water spray hit his eyes as the waves raised around him, reaching his knees. His waist. His chest and as the salt water reached the cut, he braced himself for inevitable stinging but it never came. Instead, the water seemed to numb the pain. And the water continued to rise until he was taking his last breath of air and his head was submerged in the waves.

“Fjord! Fjord!” He heard his name first. Then there were hands on him, Jester’s cold ones and Nott’s small ones. They were pulling on him as if they were pulling him away from something. He opened his eyes to white and green. Snow was pulled around him and interwoven with it… was seaweed.

He turned to see the rest of the Mighty Nein around him. They were all watching him with strange, concerned expressions. Suddenly, he felt the cold wind and he reached to pull his furs closer but they were soaking wet. 

“Let’s get inside.” Caduceus suggested. Jester offered him a hand and Fjord took it, letting her pull him to his feet. As soon as she let go, he staggered. His legs felt weak and he felt faint as black spots swam in his vision. Jester caught his arm and gripped him.

“Are you alright?” She asked. “You were out here all night.”

“All night?” Fjord repeated. It had barely been dusk when he’d sat down to meditate, how had he stayed outside all night?

Jester shrugged, “Caduceus said to leave you be.”

They walked through the tunnels, Fjord leaning heavily on Jester. Just as they stepped into the main chamber, Umagorn shouted over to them. “It’s done!” There were bags under his eyes and sweat pouring down his face. And he held the Star Razor in his grip. 

Caduceus walked over to him and took the sword gingerly, nodding at Umagorn. 

“You should sit down, Fjord. I’m going to look at your cut again.” Jester said as she lowered him to sit propped up against the rock. They were the perfect distance from the magma so it was warm in the room, but not hot. 

Absently, Fjord helped her pull his furs and armor off. When he pulled his shirt off, he saw winces on all of his friends’ faces. He looked down to see that the infection, if that’s what it was, had spread to cover nearly his entire chest.

Caduceus returned, kneeling at Fjord’s side, pressing the handle of the Star Razor into his hands. Somehow, he expected something dramatic to happen when he touched it but nothing did. The blade was beautiful up close. It had a marbled texture in the metal that gave the appearance that it was made of water. 

“What happened?” Caduceus asked. 

Fjord took a breath. “I had a dream… I heard a voice.” He said as he tried to piece together what he could remember. “ _She_ spoke to me.” He made eye contact with Caduceus. “She said that she couldn’t heal me, but she could help me. And she asked if I would protect her children. I said yes.”

Caduceus’s eyes were shining with pride. Jester’s arms wrapped around him, “That’s great!”

“But she said she can’t heal you?” Caleb asked. 

Fjord shook his head. There was still that. The fact that he was still sick. “In my dream though, I was able to bend again.”

Jester practically shoved her waterskin into his hands. “Try!”

He took a breath and attempted to pull the water out of the pouch. And with ease, the water streamed out. There were shouts across the group and he almost dropped the water in his surprise. 

“Fjord,” Caleb spoke up once the excitement died down, “Your… other ability?”

“I don’t want to try.” Fjord returned easily. He’d sworn to never use it again, no matter what. 

“Not like that. Could you use it to heal yourself?”

Fjord considered that for a moment. Despite Jester’s best efforts when they were starting waterbending training, he had never been able to heal like she could. But there was a lot that he didn’t know about himself anymore, so he pulled the water around his hand and brought it to his chest. He closed his eyes to focus, feeling the pulse of his heartbeat. And he extended the feeling to his own blood. 

It was a strange sensation, almost tingling in his chest. But he could feel something else there, something that didn’t belong. He drew on it, letting his instinct take over. After a minute, he felt the last of whatever it was leave his body. He opened his eyes to see the water was clouded black and the rest of the Mighty Nein were watching with wide eyes. 

He looked down at his chest and found that there was nothing there but a thin, white scar. 

“You’re all better!” Jester wrapped him in another hug, this time not holding back. 

“I’m still sore.” He said between over-exaggerated gasps. She let go with a laugh. 

He knew this wasn’t the end of this road, not really. But for now, it was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for this one! Thank everyone so much for reading and for all of the support! Next... Earth!


End file.
